Door-hanger.



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LOUIS A. IIOERR, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

DooR-HANeR;

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No'. 645,094, dates Marcil 1s, 19001.

Application filed March 27, 1899.` Serial No. 710,533. (No modell) I T0 all whom, t may' concern,.-

Beit known that I, LOUIS A. Homan, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Door-Hanger, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in that class of hangers for sliding doors in which the hanger is provided with a sheave running in a sheave-holder; and myimprovements are particularly useful in connection with freightcar doors.

The chief objects of my improvements are, first, to diminish friction while the door is being started in either direction until it has an opportunity to gather momentum; second, to provide improved means for introducing the sheave into its holder and for removing it therefrom; third, to provide means for holding the sheave in place when one of its trun nions is broken; fourth, to provide means for preventing the escape of the sheave when both its trunnions break, and, fifth, to provide means for supporting the hanger when its sheave is so broken as to be useless. I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure I is a side elevation of a portion of a oar having a door supported by a pair of my improved door-hangers. Fig. II is a vertical central section. Fig. III is an isometric projection of my improved hanger looking from in front, and Fig. IV is a similar view looking from the rear.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

A' represents the side of a freight-car.

Bis a car-door; C, a door-track resting upon a supporting-strip c, attached to the side of the car in the usual way, and D D are hangers, by means of which the door B is suspended from track C.

The track C is preferably in the shape of an inverted Tin cross-section and may be formed of a strip of T-iron arranged with its web o projecting upward and its tread c2 proj ecting laterally on each side of the web, substantially as shown in the drawings.

Each hanger is composed of a housing D', having a depending arm D2 and a sheave D3. The housing contains an opening d for the sheave, which opening is preferably, but not necessarily, rectangular in cross-section, and its sides d' and cl72 are preferably, but not necessarily, substantially vertical and parallel. Its ends cl3 are preferably so closed as to prevent the escape of the sheave, and preferably by parallel vertical walls, as shown. The depending arm D2 is preferably pierced by holes (Z4, through which screws or bolts (Z5 preferably pass and fasten it to the door. It preferably makes an outward bend at d6, opposite the track-strip C, so as to avoid said strip, and from its inner side, at a point which is below the level of said strip when the hanger is in place, one or more lugs (i7 project inward far enough to strike the bottom of said. trackstrip when the hanger is lifted, as shown substantiallyin Fig. II. as shown in Fig. IV; but the number is not essentiahas will be obvious.

On its outer side the hanger D contains a substantially T-shaped slot D4, whose head d8 is formed in the housing D and whose body or tail d" preferably extends down into the arm D2, substantially as shown. The inner side of the housing contains a T-'shaped slot D5, whose head d10 is opposite'the head d3 of the slot D4.' It preferably differs from the slot D4 onlyin being shorter vertically and in not having its lower end closed, as that of the slot'D4 preferably is in practice. The lower end of the slot D passes between two lugs du, projecting downward from the inner side of the body of the housing and which are preferably rounded on their outer edges (i12, as shown. The sheave D8 is preferably provided with trunnions d, which when the sheave is in place turn in the heads of the slots D4 and D5, which act as bearings therefor. The space within the housing in which the sheave D3 turns is preferably made but little Wider than the sheave, so that when one of the sheave-trunnions breaks the adjoining inner side wall of the housingrwill retain the sheave in a vertical position, and thus enable the sheave to continue to perform its function. In such cases the web o of the track prevents the outward escape of the lug d where the preferred form of track is used. Said space is also made narrow, preferably to prevent the sheave from turning and getting off the track when both trunnions get broken. The length of the tail of the slot D4 is impor- I prefer to usetwo lugs,l

IOO

tant, because it enables the sheave to be inserted,notwithstandin g the narrowness of the housing, where the housing and arm D2 are formed integral, as they preferably are. The distance from the tops or upper sides of the sheave-trunnions to the lower end of the slot d14 when the sheave is supporting the hanger and is directly over the vertical portion olli of the slot D5 should be greater than the distance from the lugs (Z7 to the under side of the track-stri p C, so as to prevent the inside tru nnion from escaping laterally when the hanger is lifted as -high as the lugs dl will permit, and I prefer that the distance from the aXis of the sheave to the lower end of the slot shall be slightly longer than the distance from the lugs d7 to the track-strip; but this, though desirable by reason of the greater security afforded and the avoidance of undue friction, is not essential. On the other hand, the lugs d should not be long enough to strike either the track C or the track-strip c when the sheave is performing its proper function. When, however, the sheave breaks and allows the hanger to drop, it should be caught by the lugs d, which should then come to rest, preferably on the inside flange c of the track C, and slide thereon, and said lugs, or at least one of them, should preferably, when the hanger-sheave is on the track, normally extend below the level of the top of the upwardly-projecting portion of the track, so as to prevent the hanger from being accidentally drawn outward and disengaged from the track when a sheave is broken. In the event of the breakage of the sheave-trunnions the rounded edges di2 allow the lugs d to serve as runners, and these lugs will then remove any deposit on the track that would tend to impede the movement of the hanger therealong. Moreover, when these rounded edges d12 are thus lowered into contact with the track they will engage and depress any projecting heads of the track-securing nails or screws that may have gotten loose instead of catching said heads and pulling out the nails or screws, as would be the case with lugs having squared or angular edges. I prefer to use the form of hanger track-rail shown; 5o but any of the other well-known forms can be substituted for it without departing from the substance of my invention. In the preferred form of my hanger-housing the lugs d are the parts projecting down so as to-prevent the escape of the hanger in case of the breakage of a sheave; but any other downwardlyextending portion of the hanger adapted to hook around the rail and support the hanger when a sheave is broken will answer the saule purpose and would be the equivalent of the lugs du.

The periphery of the sheave D3 preferably contains an annular slot dm, adapted to receive the web c of the track C when the form of track shown is used; but any of the wellknown forms of sheave may be substituted for it.

The horizontal slots da d10 lie within the plane of the sides of the housing and open therethrough, so that the travel of the roller or sheave trunnions will free the slots of any foreign matter. The slots terminate short of the ends of the housing, so that no retaininglugs are necessary, with their accompanying liability of breaking and allowing the sheave to escape. In fact,should the trunnions break the closed ends of the housing would prevent escape of the sheave.

I claim.-

As an improved article of manufacture, a car-door hanger comprising, a housing closed at its ends and formed with horizontal slots d8 d10 extending through its sides and terminating short of its ends, an attaching-arm depending from one side of the housing and having a vertical slot d opening at its upper end into the middle of the slot als, lugs d depending from the opposite side of the hous- LOUIS A. IIO'ERR.

In presence of* BENJ. F. REX, A C. D. GREENE, Jr. 

